


Moments

by delexdier



Category: Football RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Relationship(s), Tottenham Hotspurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-06 06:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8738026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delexdier/pseuds/delexdier
Summary: You see from the outside it might’ve seemed as if he’d gotten it all figured out. He was a professional athlete after all. Playing football had always been his calling he felt like and he was grateful that things turned out the way they did. But nobody saw what it really meant to be a well-known player… It meant always being cautious of what you could and couldn’t do. Training hard every single day of your life, making sure you ate your greens and kept it low on the alcohol. It meant people telling you to not spend too much money on unnecessary stuff and whom you could date or not. Eric would always choose football though. No matter how trapped he’d feel or how heart-breaking it was to leave his family in Portugal behind to come and join a rather big club in London. But on nights like this one, he had trouble keeping his thoughts straight and he’d try everything to feel like the free boy he used to be again.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [penalteaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/penalteaze/gifts).



> This is a work of fiction. None of these events actually happened nor do I know in what context Eric and Dele stand to each other. Also this is more of an AU than something that could’ve actually happened since Dele isn’t a Spurs player (or a professional athlete in general) in this story.
> 
> Their characteristics are close to what I believe they are actually like in real life and background information is somewhat close to what we’ve got to know about them through media, interviews, etc.
> 
> I was listening to Shawn Mendes’ first album ‘handwritten’ while writing this. I’d recommend you doing the same, especially ‘kid in love’, but you obviously don’t have to.
> 
> I hope you’ll enjoy this story just as I much enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> This was my first attempt in writing a fanfic and please keep in mind that English is not my first language. I'd love to hear your feedback and I'm more than happy to recieve critism and tipps to help me improve.
> 
> Also a huge thanks to calchambaes for reading this story first, helping me to improve it and also just for being so super sweet and supporting! :-*

It was hot in Brighton that very day in July. A mild evening, birds singing, people dancing, drinking too much. Eric didn’t know how he ended up at a party where he knew nobody.  
He loved Brighton and its way to make you feel at home. He however didn’t like the fact that he was there, once again, just to run from his life in Northern London which had been nothing but hectic and stressful these days even though preseason had barely just started.

You see from the outside it might’ve seemed as if he’d gotten it all figured out. He was a professional athlete after all. Playing football had always been his calling he felt like and he was grateful that things turned out the way they did. But nobody saw what it really meant to be a well-known player… It meant always being cautious of what you could and couldn’t do. Training hard every single day of your life, making sure you ate your greens and kept it low on the alcohol. It meant people telling you to not spend too much money on unnecessary stuff and whom you could date or not. Eric would always choose football though. No matter how trapped he’d feel or how heart-breaking it was to leave his family in Portugal behind to come and join a rather big club in London. But on nights like this one, he had trouble keeping his thoughts straight and he’d try everything to feel like the free boy he used to be again.

So there he was at this party he didn’t have an invitation to. He just somehow walked into it. Drink in his hand, nodding his head out of beat. He put on his best smile the one that tells you _‘I’m just a regular guy at a party having a good time’_. Hoping nobody would recognize him or even worse, hoping there wouldn’t be pictures all over the tabloids the next day. He tried hard to fit in, he really did. Making sure he flowed with the crowd, not making eye contact with anyone. But deep inside of him he hated that feeling he’d been getting way too often lately. The feeling of being alone in a room filled with dozens of people. The feeling of never fitting in a 100%. The feeling of never being good enough and the feeling of how nobody would ever understand what it meant to have your life controlled by thousands rather than a few. Sometimes it hit him way too quick, way too hard. Just like it did in this very moment. So he decided to leave this party, walk outside, get some air. Stop himself from falling.

Outside it was calm, almost silent. The warm air soothing Eric’s heated face and he finally felt as if he was able to breath again. His thoughts were still all over the place and he tried not to lose it right there.

“This was a bad idea, Dier,” he mumbled to himself.  

“What was a bad idea Diet?” Eric heard someone speak up behind him.

Embarrassed by the thought of someone hearing him and calling him by the wrong name he turned around to face a young guy, probably 20. He looked the stranger right into the eyes and felt something creep up inside of him but he wasn’t able to put a finger on what this feeling was.  
“Well it’s actually Die-r,” Eric said with his voice cracking on the ‘r’ of his own name. _“Keep it together, Dier.”_

“You know that I can still hear your mumbling, Diet?!” And yet again Eric caught himself embarrassed but still not letting go of the stare he had been receiving for what felt like forever by now.

“Wait a second… Aren’t you that football player for something Ham?” And Eric couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Any other day, any other person he would have cursed himself for someone meeting him in such an awkward way. This time though he almost felt happy that this stranger knew who he was and didn’t care about how he might have looked like.

“Tottenham, yes,” he smiled.

“That’s sick lad. I bet you’re getting quite some action… Oh I’m Dele by the way.” And now it was Dele’s time to chuckle.  

“Nice to meet you Dele, I’m Eric.”

Dele mustered Eric from head to toe lost in thoughts. Eric began to shift, now feeling a little uncomfortable.

“When was the last time you ran away?”

“Excuse me?” Eric said in his best manners not really understanding what Dele was referring to.

“When was the last time…” Dele paused, “the last time, you know? Did something wild? You seem like a nice lad, probably bad banter though, but there’s something off about you. Almost as if you’re _lost_?”  
Eric couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Not only did this Delboy say he’d got bad banter without even knowing how ridiculously funny Eric could get (or at least that’s what his ex girlfriend had told him) he also saw right through the walls he’d tried so hard to build up with all the press following him and people judging his every move around him.  
“You look pale. You’re alright lad? I’m sorry if I offended you in any way but you’d think that football players have, you know, well, I don’t even know.”

“No offense taken,” Eric said, yet too polite in this rather awkward situation. He took a deep breath and thought about just letting it go when he was actually surprised what came out of his mouth next. “You know sometimes it all gets a little much and I wish…”

He wasn’t even able to finish his sentence when Dele blurted out: “Run away with me. Let’s have some fun tonight.”

Eric just looked at Dele, shaking his head unnoticeably. He’d never been in a situation like this before and didn’t know what to say without coming off too harsh or impolite. But the still so intense look of Dele, the warm air, the silence around him made him feel as if he’d been drinking for hours, getting high.  
“Run away with me,” he heard again and without thinking about it his face brightened up and he repeated Dele’s words. _“Run away with me.”_

So they did. They just started running and although Eric had been in his best form lately it took all his power to keep up with Delboy. Trying not to stumble over his own feet without cutting the distance between them. Never looking back, he just kept running. Running for what felt like forever and Eric wished that this would never stop. The adrenaline rush, the fear of tripping, the thought of Dele and him getting to a destination together. It was stupid, ridiculous almost, they had just met. _But he could swear in this moment he felt like a kid in love._  
  


_* * *_  
  


“I’ll wake up with sore legs I can already feel it. How do you do this every day?” Dele said after catching his breath. “And this gravel is mad uncomfortable. You know I love Brighton Pier but they should invest in some sand or give out free blankets.” It was more Dele thinking out loud than actually talking to Eric and Eric couldn’t help but stare at him. It took him a solid five minutes to catch his own breath after sprinting to the beach. He wondered what he was actually doing here. At one in the morning with a male he just met about 30 minutes ago.  
“Tell me something about you Diet. Something nobody would expect. Something like you can’t drive stick or you have a hard time keeping numbers straight. I don’t want to hear the ‘I am so grateful to play football and live the life I love’ stuff.”

And yet again without hesitation, Eric did. He told Dele how he hated it to brush his teeth with spearmint toothpaste and how he liked his eggs hard boiled even in the morning. He told him about the one time he’d jumped onto his little sister’s head at their pool in Portugal and how she ended up being rushed to the hospital to get the cut fixed with seven stitches. He spoke about his Grandma he loved dearly and about the sweater he wanted to wear today just to come to the realization that it was way too hot to wear something woven.  
He just talked for literally hours, Dele made it seem so easy, words just flowed out of Eric’s mouth and to his own surprise his voice didn’t crack as much as it usually did. And he didn’t even notice how Dele was looking at him all way through his stories. Way too busy with making sure he didn’t forget anything. _And Eric swore he had never felt so understood in his life._

  
  
* * *  
  


“Are you really though?” Dele broke the silence that appeared after Eric was done talking about his life.

“What do you mean?” Eric was confused and felt a little embarrassed that he didn’t even ask Dele about his life after he’d stopped talking.

“Are you really loving the life you’re living? Are genuinely content?” And this felt scary to Eric. He’d never openly admit that being a professional athlete wasn’t all fun and games. But looking into Dele’s eyes made him feel brave.

“Not all the time. It can be upsetting having your every move put on a scale. I am scared most of the time to screw something up, to not only let my team down but also my fans. I’m scared of failing and I’m scared of ending up alone, never finding someone who is willing to love me with all my flaws and accept the fact that the relationship will be monitorized. But I wouldn’t have it any other way to be honest?” The last part came out as a whisper, more like a question than an actual statement.

“You don’t look for love, you know? It finds you,” was all Dele said making Eric feel a little sad that this was the only thing Dele got during his honest confession.

“Alright Diet, let’s go swimming!” And with that Dele was stripped down to his boxers running into the bitter-cold sea. 

Eric hesitated for a moment but followed the lanky (at least compared to his own rather bulky figure) guy anyway. The waves hit him, making him shiver. It was darker in the water than it was on the pier and he had a hard time spotting Dele. Suddenly he felt arms wrapped around his torso trying to push him underwater and it took him by surprise that even though he felt like actually dying from cold any moment, his face still felt hot blushing more under every touch. 

“Last one to reach the buoy is a complete loser and has to take the other one out for dinner,” Dele sounded like a kid, screaming his lungs out, already far ahead of Eric. The thought of him and Dele getting dinner together made him freeze for a second, the distance between the two lads growing further. _And in that moment he could swear he’d never felt so full of warmth in his life before despite the bitter cold and crashing waves._

  
  
_* * *_  
  


Eric ended up losing and Dele’s grin made it worth it in the end. The joy in his eyes and the giggles he’d grown to love within these past hours warmed his heart so much that he almost forgot how cold the pier felt now that they were dripping wet.

“You gonna catch a cold Diet. I’m sure the gaffer won’t be happy about it,” Dele said while trying to dry himself with his own hands.

Eric was at a loss of words, staring at Dele once again. He still wasn’t able to figure out what this was all about and what was going on. If his toes wouldn’t have hurt so bad because of the cold, he might have had thought he was actually dreaming.

“So where are you going to take me for dinner? I hope it’s some fancy place, where they serve you so many appetizers and bread you’re full before the main course.”

“ _Bistro Aix_ , for sure Delboy, it’s not too fancy but their desserts are amazing and I’m sure you’ll love it,” Eric answered and he thought about how it felt like they’d known each other for years when in reality he still didn’t know a thing besides his name about Dele. He didn’t know if he was a vegan, or if he had allergies. He didn’t know if he liked to dress up all fancy, he knew nothing about him really, but he knew that he believed in love finding you and there was something so bittersweet about the fact, that Eric’s heart felt heavy all of the sudden.  
“Tell me something unexpected about you, please?” The last part of the sentence made Eric sound vulnerable, not as confident as he often pretended to be.

“Tonight isn’t about me, Diet. But to be fair, I’m not from Brighton either. So are we gonna sleep in your hotel room or at the pier?”

Eric really didn’t expect that. However, he just answered: “I’m staying at _The Grand Brighton_ , it’s quite close.”

Dele took Eric’s hand in his and started running again, without looking back.  
Eric thought about what had just happened and how he should freak out. How he should question his sexuality and how he should call his manager to ask if she could keep an extra eye on tabloids, just in case. But he didn’t, he didn’t feel like freaking out and he for sure didn’t question his sexuality. And he would also never talk to his manager about this night, because he simply didn’t care. He didn’t care who’d see him or what people might think. He didn’t care that it was another man holding his hand right now. _And he could swear he’d never felt so dizzy around someone and there had never been so many butterflies in his stomach as there were in this moment._

  
  
_* * *_

  
  
They got to the room and for the first time this night Eric noticed something changing about Dele’s attitude. As if he’d never seen a four-star, sea-view hotel room before. Dele got quiet, not in the literal sense, but he slowed down. There wasn’t a smirk on his face anymore and the look Eric received wasn’t teasing, it wasn’t filled with joy or giggles. If he wouldn’t have known better, he would have thought that the stare was filled with nothing but pure love.

“Can you hold me for a second, Eric?” Dele’s words came out barely reaching Eric’s ears and it hit him that this was the first time he wasn’t called ‘Diet’ by him.

Eric stepped closer, carefully wrapping his hand around Dele’s, now fragile seeming, lanky body. He rested his head on the curve of Dele’s neck and held onto him as if his life depended on it. Eric didn’t know how long they’d been standing like this in the middle of the room. The only thing he knew was that he wanted Dele, that he needed him. He’d never been the type of guy to just hook up with a stranger, he had always felt bad just kissing someone without any real emotions. This was different though, he thought.  
And so he just leaned in and kissed Dele like he’d never kissed someone before. Slow at first, lips barely touching, deepening the kiss shortly after. Dele’s breath hitched when Eric started pushing him towards the bed and all of the sudden roles had changed. Now it was Eric’s turn to be in charge, it was his turn to set the pace, to make sure Dele wasn’t feeling lost.

“Are you okay with…” and yet again Eric wasn’t able to finish his sentence. Dele latched onto him like a magnet, exploring every part of Eric’s body with his hands.

It was slow and intimate, almost too intense at points for Eric to handle. It was sweet and innocent in a way. It felt everlasting, something Eric had never experienced before and he wasn’t quite sure if Dele had done so himself. He wanted this night, or early morning really, to last forever. He wanted to never go back to his life where everything seemed so complicated and staged.  
_And he could swear in that moment he finally knew what true love felt like._

   
  


* * *  
  


Eric woke up with his whole body aching as if he’d been drinking the night away. His head hurt, his legs felt heavy and his lips numb. And if it wasn’t for Dele’s smell on his sheets he would have thought this was all just some wild dream, that he’d gotten something mixed into his drink and was having the trip of his life. He, however, knew that it wasn’t just some aching memory, something his mind had made up.  
He turned around smiling so big his mouth hurt just to find nobody there. No sign of Dele, no sound except the ringing in Eric’s ears.

“He’s just using the loo Dier,” he mumbled to himself and when there was nobody to give an answer and nobody coming out of the restroom even after thirty minutes of staring at the door, Eric came to the realization that he’d been left behind by Dele. He was in complete shock not knowing if he should be bitter or hurt. Not knowing if it was something he did or if this was all just some insane test the club’s team set up to see how behaved their players actually were.  
After staring at the ceiling for another twenty minutes Eric knew he had to pack his bag and check out of the hotel. He knew he had to go back to Tottenham and continue being the football player he was. He knew he’d never see Dele again, how should he really? He didn’t even know where he was from. And regret started to pour down on him. He still didn’t regret letting Dele in, letting him be his safe haven for a night, showing him parts of himself, even he didn’t know existed. However, he regretted not asking more about Dele, he should have kept digging even after he told him _’that tonight was about him alone’_.  
Right when he was about to leave the hotel room, which now seemed way too big for one person and way too posh, his eyes found a little note.

 _“G’morning Diet, hope you got a good 8 hours of sleep. Can’t believe you’re such a heavy sleeper. You didn’t even wake up while I was blasting Portuguese songs on your phone._  
I had to run away again, sorry. I hope you aren’t as lost anymore.  
Just promise me one thing? Don’t look back. - Dele”

No number, no address, no ‘I had a great time with you’, nothing really. _And Eric could swear he heard his heart breaking into pieces._

  
  
* * *

  
  
The weeks and months after that night in Brighton were endless. With the season taking on its full speed again, Spurs changing tactics and Eric’s new ‘girlfriend’ he got put to his side by his PR-team after a long night of too much whiskey and him talking about this cute guy he’d met, he felt exhausted. But Eric did what he knew best, he put on a smile, left all his anger out on the pitch, played with all his heart (or what was left of it really), took his ‘girlfriend’ out at set times and gave one interview after another.  
He was happy about having everything sorted out if he was being honest. He was happy about him having something like a script to his life. It helped with not thinking about that hot day in Brighton. His thoughts weren’t his anymore and neither were his actions, however, this time he was genuinely and deeply grateful for that.

There were still nights though when he couldn’t help but look back, think about him in Dele’s arms. Lately he found himself caught in flashbacks while warming up, images of them running towards the beach slipped inside of his head while actually running next to his team mates on a rainy November day.

Eric never liked November for some reason. It wasn’t Christmas time yet and the English weather was just dreary. The league getting faster and more intense by the minute and something was just always off. This year’s November however was worse than all the ones before. He found himself looking for Dele in every person. He would think he saw him on the tube or he’d hear his voice in a crowd. But he never actually did and in moments like these, in moments he wished to be able to keep the promise he never actually made of not looking back, _he could swear he’d never be fully content again._

  
  
* * *

  
  
Bistro Aix was a place Eric had been dreading ever since he told Dele he’d take him there one day. He hadn’t been there in the past four months and he wasn’t planning on going anytime soon, if ever again.  
It was December by now with snow covering some patches of the training ground.

“Dier, can you run to Aix real quick? The birthday boy wants some Profiteroles and he claims that they have the best ones in town. You love that place, don’t you? So it’d just be fair for you to grab some,” Harry, one of Eric’s teammates, said in between stretches.

Eric’s jaw dropped a little, he’d been doing quite well not thinking about anything Dele related for the past eight days (not that he was counting) and Harry’s question took him by surprise. After catching his breath, he just smiled at his mate with a little nod and decided to get it over with now. He’d be drowning in sadness all evening anyways.

So there he was on an early Tuesday afternoon in December way too underdressed, covered in sweat, his tracksuit rather dirty, waiting for the waitress to hand out the Profiteroles.

 _“You found me Diet,“_ Eric heard someone speak up behind him just as he was about to leave. And without looking he knew it was Dele and he knew exactly what he was referring to.

Eric turned around, grabbed Dele’s hand and started running.  
What happened that morning in Brighton didn’t matter anymore. It didn’t matter that Eric still didn’t know where Dele was coming from or when his birthday was. All that mattered was that true love found you.

“Tell me something unexpected about you Delboy,” Eric said after they stopped running, looking into Dele’s eyes as if all the stars were in them.

“I’ve been to every Bistro within 10 kilometres in Tottenham because I wasn’t able to remember what your favourite one was called… I’ve been doing this for two months now.”

“Are you serious? You could have just shown up at a public training or something like that,” Eric said placing his arm around Dele’s neck, kissing his forehead.

“But I wanted to find you. You know how I told you that you don’t look-”

“You found me on that very day in July in Brighton,” Eric whispered into Dele’s ear.

“Did you keep your promise?” Dele asked holding onto Eric’s torso.

“I will from now on, promise,” Eric answered in between kisses.

_And he was sure that he would never look back and in that moment he could swear he felt like the free boy he once used to be again._

 

**_The end._ **

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: 
> 
> I’m hoping you see the pattern and I’m hoping this all makes sense
> 
> Bistro Aix is a real thing, check it out here: http://bistroaix.co.uk/
> 
> The room in ‘The Grand Brighton’ I’m referring to: http://www.grandbrighton.co.uk/classic-sea-view-rooms-,rooms_viewItem_41-en.html
> 
> Pau López’ (spurs goalkeeper) birthday is December 13th which will be a Tuesday this year


End file.
